Teenage Blues
by creep-stats3
Summary: Yoh needs some alone time to think things through. Ren ignores the fact and follows him anyway. YohxRen fluff


Teenage Blues

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Don't hate me. I know I've been procrastinating on my other stories, but I will not stop writing until I finish them. I solemnly swear that I'll finish them. Hang on there, all my fellow Death Note fans.

Again, this is a little fic that was inspired by build up of wanting to see a nice Yoh/Ren pairing. I hope you like! Please review!

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Yoh walked lazily down the street with his jacket hanging off his shoulder and his short unbuttoned as usual. He had just gotten done with the shopping for that evening and was headed home to make dinner. Yoh was in the mood for some star-gazing, and he figured he'd just let Anna know he was going to set off for the grave yard to do so after dinner.

Yoh was in one of those moods where he felt like he'd neglected his alone time. He didn't mind his friends at all, of course, but he wanted to set a little time aside to meditate and be one with nature. It was part of his routine, and without it he didn't feel at ease. Anna understood his needs, despite her strict nature. She trusted him, and she could relate. Yoh smiled to himself. Anna was really a great person underneath all the thick layer of ice. It was just a matter of breaching them and seeing the inside. That reminded Yoh of Ren. Ren was much like Anna in the way that he had some pretty thick walls guarding his heart, and who could blame him? He'd had a rough child hood. His father was abusive and overly protective, and his mother was too mild a woman to really try to subdue his father's wrath. Yoh sighed. Ren had changed a lot since he started living with them. He'd finally let loose, and he had made a point of letting Yoh know that it was he whom he considered his best friend. He'd never said it aloud, but his actions spoke for him.

Yoh arrived at the house carrying four heavy bags of vegetables and cooking necessities. Ren was practicing his swordsmanship outside and stopped to help his friend when he noticed him entering the broad doorway.

"Isn't this a bit too much?" He asked the care-free Yoh.

The brunette flashed his typical grin. "Anna doesn't like shopping, so she asked me to buy enough to keep us fed for the next couple of weeks."

Ren nodded and followed his friend inside the house. Anna greeted them in the entryway and took two bags from Yoh, carrying them into the kitchen. Yoh, now empty handed, followed her through the house and into the kitchen. Ren joined them shortly after.

"What's for dinner?" Anna asked.

"I was thinking stir-fry. Sound alright?" Yoh answered smiling.

Anna nodded and left the room. Ren, oddly, remained.

"Aren't you going to go and wait?" The brunette asked.

The dark haired teen shook his head as he started getting out the ingredients needed for stir-fry. "I can help you make dinner. I learned how to cook back when I was still living with my family. Jun taught me."

Yoh chuckled and gave Ren a grateful smile. "Well, this way we'll get done sooner."

Sure enough, dinner was made in half-time, and all three feasted together. Bason and Amidamaru were given offerings to their portable grave stones. They couldn't eat it, but they were thankful all the same.

Once dinner had been eaten, Yoh did as he had planned. He told Anna he'd be back late that night, and that he just wanted some time to himself. Anna had looked at him with a worried expression, but she agreed to let him go.

"Is there anything wrong, Yoh?" She asked calmly.

Yoh smiled reassuringly. "Heh, you know me. I'm fine, don't worry."

The girl was doubtful. She knew Yoh all too well to believe him, but she let it slide. She figured that if the boy had something to say, he surely would. So she sighed inwardly and told him to come back before mid-night or else he'd be sleeping out in the dog house. He laughed and turned to leave.

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Yoh arrived at the usual spot where he would lay and gaze at the constellations above. The sky was a magnificent purple hue decorated elegantly with the blanket of shimmering stars. The sight dulled the boy's senses and quieted his restless mind. He was suffering from an odd sort of anxiety that he didn't comprehend at all. Yoh was normally care-free and easy going. His mind was always clear because he never had anything ailing his thoughts. On rare occasion, Yoh would be perplexed about something or other, but it was usually simple. Sometimes it was about the weather, and why it couldn't be sunny, and sometimes it was as trivial as what he should make for dinner. This time, however, he had something serious wafting through his mind. It floated above his head like a rain cloud, and he wished that it would just rain itself out and go away. Sadly, he had no such luck. The anxiety was clenching his heart-strings, and it threatened to tare them out of his chest. He tried to squelch his frenzied emotions, but he had to face it.

Just as he was admitting to himself what was bothering him, he heard a rustle in the grass behind him, and he recognized the presence.

"Hi Ren," He said turning to smile at his friend.

The boy nodded solemnly and leaned against the tree Yoh was laying under.

"You're acting unusual, Asakura." He said getting straight to the point.

Yoh's smile slowly fell into a slight frown. "Is it really that obvious?"

Ren sighed. "How could you think we wouldn't notice? You're never like this, Yoh."

The brunette smiled again, but this time it was sadly. "I think it's the teenage blues." He said.

"Teenage blues?" Ren enquired.

"Heh, yep. That's what I said."

Ren moved from his standing position to join Yoh at his side. "Tell me how you're feeling."

The boy looked off into the distance without really acknowledging or processing what he was seeing.

"Well, I've never been accepted by anyone until now. I'm really happy. Manta, Horo Horo, Chocoluv, Lyserg, Tamao, Ryu, Anna…. And you," he paused, "You've all accepted me for who I am." He grinned at Ren before continuing.

"But that's not what's on my mind. You see, Anna and I are engaged, and I feel like she truly understands me…" He trailed off.

"Go on…" Ren prodded gently.

Yoh nodded. "I have strong feelings for her, but I doubt that I'm ready to marry her."

"Your wedding is a couple years away, though." Ren commented.

The brunette nodded. "True, but I've been engaged to her since I was thirteen. If I was truly in love, don't you think that after four years it would have clicked?"

Ren thought about that for a moment. Four years was a while, and if Yoh didn't feel like his heart belonged to the person he was engaged to, then perhaps he had reason to fret.

"I'm not wise on this sort of situation, Yoh, but I can say this: You've always followed your gut instinct, right? And you've not been let down once until now. So, I suggest that you trust yourself as you always have."

Yoh turned to Ren with a mildly surprised expression on his features. Then he smiled. "That sounded pretty wise to me."

Ren felt a blush creep across his cheeks. "I just said what I thought was right."

Yoh's smile fell once more as he returned his attention to the skies. "This time, I don't know if my instinct is right."

"What do you mean?"

Yoh sighed, "My instinct is leading me to believe that I have stronger feelings for someone who I doubt would be very pleased to know that they were the object of my affection."

"You sure are using bigger words than usual. I didn't know you were capable of impressive vocabulary." Ren said with a distinct smirk crossing his lips. Yoh laughed.

"I guess you're right."

Ren's smirk disappeared and was replaced by a slight frown. "But why are you letting something as petty as your emotions get in your way?"

"Petty, huh?" Yoh breathed, "That's one way of putting it, but it's harder to ignore since Anna is supposed to be my fiancée, and here I am dreaming about someone else."

"How long have you known this person?" Ren asked.

"About as long as I've known you." Yoh answered.

Ren looked over at his friend curiously. The only people he knew Yoh had met around the same time as himself had been his sister and Horo Horo.

"You wouldn't happen to like my sister, would you?" He asked a little defensively.

Yoh laughed. "No, you can rest easy in that aspect."

Ren let out a breath he didn't realize that he'd been holding, "Fine then, what about Pirika?"

Yoh shook his head. "Nope."

Ren racked his brain and started to unravel the mystery before him. Yoh was closest to Manta, Anna and Ren himself. Manta was definitely not his love interest, and Yoh was confessing that Anna wasn't the person he loved. That only left… Ren gasped. That only left him. Yoh… could he possibly have feelings for him? The thought seemed ludicrous, and yet, silently, Ren hoped that he'd hit the nail on the head. For some time now, Ren had grown extremely fond of his fellow Shaman. Yoh was a worthy adversary as one who wielded Amidamaru's power. Yoh was also the first true friend Ren had ever had, so what if… what if, by some fluke, Yoh had grown to love him? Ren knew he felt something special for the normally care-free young man, and he wondered if perhaps the same could be said for Yoh.

"Asakura…" Ren resorted to the formal term, "Will you answer me honestly if I guess who it is you love?"

Yoh nodded without a word. Ren's face grew red as his heart began to race in his chest. The moment of truth was now.

"Is it… me?" He asked weakly.

Yoh sat up and looked at his friend with a mysterious little grin. "I didn't think you'd guess that quickly."

"But-," Ren was interrupted as Yoh put up a hand to silence him.

"It's alright. Like I said, it's the teenage blues. I admit I've had feelings for you for a few years now, but it's just one of those nights where all the emotions cluster together. I usually get over it and feel fine the next morning. You don't have to respond; I just hope that you don't leave because you know I have feelings for you. I'd like to at least stay friends, if that's-," Now it was Yoh's turn to be cut off. Ren's face was a mere centimetre from his own.

"Just shut up, Yoh," That said, Ren descended upon the brunette with a fiery kiss that ignited a dormant passion within them both. Yoh didn't fight Ren's aggressive mouth. He let the dark haired boy take him over completely, succumbing to his every demand.

Soon, the boys surfaced for air. Gasping, they held onto each other for support. Yoh's head was throbbing slightly from the lack of oxygen.

"You…" He gasped, "You…"

"I have loved you for the longest time, Asakura Yoh," Ren said breathily.

Yoh's chocolate eyes softened into a warm expression. "I never would have thought…"

"Thought what? Thought that I could ever return your feelings?" Ren smirked, "You don't know me as well as you think you do."

"Should that be something for me to worry about?" Yoh asked with little concern.

Ren shook his head and brushed his lips over Yoh's for a slip second before pulling back and looking upon his love's face. "You'll know every part of me soon. There isn't much left of me that you don't already know. You're the only one who almost knows the whole me, save my sister."

The brunette grinned his funny little grin again. "That's good to know."

"So, will you be telling Anna?" the dark haired one asked.

Yoh's eyes went downcast for a moment before meeting Ren's once more. The golden eyes staring back at him were enough to fill him with confidence.

"I'll tell her tonight when I get home."

Ren intertwined his fingers with Yoh's and rested his forehead against the other boy's. "Then I'll be with you."

The brunette agreed and brought his lips to Ren's in another intense kiss. This one characterized by resolution. Yoh was positive now about what he wanted, and the anxiety weighing so heavily on his chest earlier had lifted like a cloud of smoke. It was gone, and now all that was surrounding him was the thought of a happy future with the one he's come to love.

The kiss broke once more and the boys rested side by side. They lay gazing up at the stars with their heads resting on the other's outstretched arm. What better way to beat the teenage blues than with a dose of hearty correspondence to a confession?


End file.
